Animal trap



July 22, 1952 H. B. KOCl -l EIAL 2,603,906

ANIMAL TRAP Filed April 24, 1948 2 1 12 5 JNVENTORS" HAROL UB/focwm o BYdaHA/MLsH/v Patented July 22, 1952 ANIMAL TRAP Harold B. Koch and JohnU. Lehn, Lititz} rei,

assignors to'Animal Trap Company of America, Lititz, Pa, a corporationof Pennsylvania Application April 24, 1948, Serial No. 23,084

' 8 Claims.

'Ifhe'present invention relates to animal traps and particularly totraps for rodents and other smallanimalssuch as rats or mice.

Ith'asheietofore been proposed to provide such traps with automaticallyOperating latching meanswhereby the trap may be set merely by moving aspring-pressed jaw or striking member to set position whereupon itisautomatically held by. However, suchtraps have had sevv disadvantages.The manufacturing have-been high because of the intricate I parts} theclose tolerance requirements and ssembling- -difiiculties requiring muchhand Because of the highly competitive nature of I I {trap business,-the high manufacturing costs'ot traps with automaticallyoperating'latching'; mechanism has been a serious obstacle to tli'icommercial success.

oreover, prior traps of this type have tended tobeerratic in operation.Sometimes they fail to latch properly and either refuse to hold the jawin set position-or release it prematurely. At other timesythey fail torelease properly so that an animal can take the bait without springingthe trap.

Because of; their intricate mechanism and the close-tolerancesrequired,- many of them have failed to" operate satisfactorily undervarying conditions-of;service and have not been sufiicintlyriigged-andfoobproof to withstand ordinaryuse-and abuse. A furtherdifficulty is that the; autom-aticallyoperating latch mechanismsometimesjbecomes latch-ed when the jaw of then-ems inffsprungi positionand blocks movemerit ofthe jaw-into-set position. I

An obiect gt the" present; invention is to overcome th'e d iiicultiesand disadvantages of prior trapsan'dto "provideautomatic latch mechanismin atrap of' s rnpleandrugged constructionwhich is adapted to bemanufactured on existing automaticf majc'hiriery at low cost and willoperate satisfactorily without demanding adherence to clostolerancessAnother objectof the invention is 'to"? prc'ividei a--new and improvedtrap having automaticlatching;mechanism which operates in a positiveand-elfectivemanner to hold the jaw whezritdsmovedto set position andyet-is sulficierltly sensitive to release the jaw immediatelywhenever-an animal attempts to take the bait.

The trap in accordance with the present inven tion is substantiallyuniform in its operationand action of the latch. This results in minim'.providedfor tripping the 'trapwith a moveme t setting operation a andthus practically no haza sensitivity despite normal manufacturingvaria'-' tions incident to mass production methods. further objector thepresent invention isyth'e'iprovision of a 'trap'with automatic latch mecnism so constructed that the latch cannot become accidentally lockedsoas to interfere With the setting of the'trap'. Y Y I a I a In accordancewith the present inventi'om'tliel latch is moved by cam action in thesetting ope'r 5"; tion and does not depend on the operatic orpartsdropping into place by gravity. Positive and effective actionis therebyassured. When: the trap is sprung, the'jaw is released by pivo lfrictional resistance, greater sensitivity and-* greater reliability,uniformity and speed of op-"'" eration. In one'embodiinent oftheinvention,means'is in one direction of the bait holding treadle;whilef; in another embodiment thetrippin gfo f thetrap may beaccomplished by movement of the'bait' holdingtreadle in either of twodirections. V

. The trap in accordance with the m' en iqn advantageous in that thereis positive latchin of: the jaw byithcset'ting operation inasmuch e7latching member is literally pushed; into n gagem ent with its holding'means.- The reliia's is likewise positive as the resiliency of theeating sprm'grtr the jaw moves the latching'ine' her out of engagemerittherewith. Anotheii a vantage 'of'the'tr'ap is that there no movement;of the bait treadle or counterbalance durlngthe" of the trapt'e'mgaccidentally tripped while'beiiig' Fig. 3 is a side view of the trapshown in Fig. l in the tripped or sprung position.

Fig. 4 is a top View of another embodiment of the trap in accordancewith the invention showing the trap in the tripped position.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the trap shown in Fig. 4 in the trippedposition.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the trap shown in Fig. 4 in the set position.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Fig. 1 a trap in accordancewith the invention. The trap includes a generally rectangular shapedbase 2 which may be made of wood or other suitable material, a strikeror jaw 4 pivotally attached to the base by staples 5 and 6. A coiledspring 1 is adapted to normally urge the jaw in the tripping position,one end 9 of the spring overriding the side In of the jaw 4. The otherend ll of the spring 1 is adapted to abut against the top surface of thebase 2. In assembling the trap, one end of the spring is held while theother end is turned so as to give the desiredtension to the spring. Apivotally mounted bait holding treadle I2 is supported approximately inthe center of the base 2 by a staple M. The treadle is comprised of twoportions: a bait holding, portion I5 and a weighted portion IS. The.bait

holding portion I5 is arched upwardly to provide clearance for thespring I and is formed with a depressed portion forming a recess I!having an upwardly and inwardly turned extension l9 adapted to extendinto any suitable bait and retain it within the recess IT. The weightedportion |6 of the treadle is formed in a shape of channeled crosssection with side walls 20 and 2| and having its open side facingdownwardly. The upper side of the weighted portion is slotted asindicated at 22 for a purpose to be later explained. The side walls 2and 2| of the channeledportion have apertures as indicated at 24 for thepivotal mounting of the treadle on the staple M. The slot 22 extendsforwardly towards the-bait holding portion of the treadle just past avertical. plane through the apertures 24 and ends in v a detent edge 23.The weighted portion l6.is formed with sufficient material so thatnormany the bait holding portion I5 is raised away from the base 2 whilethe weighted portion l6 rests thereon.

A latching member 25 is made of a thin flat material formed with ahigher rear end portion 26 having a downwardly and forwardly extendingcam surface 21 at the lower end of which is a locking recess 29. Theupper wall 36 of the recess 29 preferably is made straight and parallelwith the surface of the base 2 although the angle of the wall may beinclined to a slight degree either above or below a line parallel withthe base depending upon the desired sensitivity of the tripping actionof the trap. The forward wall of the recess 29 is formed with adownwardly and rearwardly extending cam surface 3|, and the forward sideof the end portion 26 is shaped to provide a vertical shoulder 32. Thefront end of the latching member 25 is curved upwardly and has aflat tipupper surface 34, the height of this surface being such that thelatching membe will just slide under the treadle at the forward end ofthe slot 22. Mounting and guiding means for the latching member 25 areprovided so that it will slide forwardly and rearwardly by forming itsrear end portion 26 with a generally horizontally extending slot 35, theouter end of which extends upwardly and rearwardly, as indicated at 39,in order to prevent the latch member from sliding too far forward andbecoming disengaged from its mounting means or staple membe 40. Thestaple 40 has wide sidewalls to provide guiding surfaces and is insertedin the slot 35 and secured in the base 2 for the mounting and guiding ofthe latching member 25. The lower surface of the end 26 of the latchingmember is curved, as indicated at 4!, to permit a slight pivotalmovement of the latching member 25 on its support. The staple 4D ispositioned in the slot 35 so that the latching member is held in anupright position, freedom of movement bein assured in the forwardand.rearwagddirection and sumcientplay being available tojperm-it thelatching member to pivotally turn to a slight extent on its rounded end4 In setting the trap, it is placed in a horizontal position. The jaw isswung back until it contacts thecam surface 21 of. the latching member25. Pressing the jaw 4 on this surface causes a cam action which slidestheTlatching member 25 rearwardly in its support 40. However, in theevent the latch has already slipped rearwardly as faras possible, thejaw 4 will not strike the cam surface 21 but will contact the camsurface 3| thus immediately moving the latch member 25 into the latchingposition. When the latching member moves fa enoughfor the'jaw to clearthe forward end of the cam surface 21, the jawslips into the lockingrecess 29 and further pres sure causes the jaw 4 to contact the camsurface H 3| which causes a cam action in the opposite 'direction, orforwardly, thereby moving the latching member 25 forward until the upperwall 3 0 of the locking recess 29 is over the jaw and the forward end ofthe latching member extends under the detent edge 23 at the end of theslot 22. Upon the release of pressure on the jaw, it will move upwardlyagainst the upper wall 30 of restraining further turning of the latchingmember and securing the jaw 4 in the locking recess 29. The trap istripped by the downward movemerit of the bait holding portion I5 of thetreadle,

thereby pivotally moving the treadle in a clockwise direction about itssupport l4 and rotatingthe forward end of slot 22 away from the tip' 34of the latching member 25. The latching member is thereby released andis rotated slightly in a counterclockwise direction by a spring-urgedaction of jaw 4 on the upper wall 30 of the looking recess 29.

jaw member 4 to clear the forward endof the cam surface 30 and slip outof the locking recessl" It will be noted that in the setting of thistrap the only moving part, aside from the swinging of the jaw 4, is thatof the latching member "25 which slides back and forth in a horizontalplane, the weighted portion'l6 of the treadle l5 being sufficient tokeep it normally resting on the base of the trap and at no time during asetting op-' eration is the treadle moved; Immediately uponits release,after being moved downwardly in tripping the trap, it returns to itsnormal position.

Another embodiment of the invention is'illustrated in Figs. 4 through 6in which corresponding parts are designated as far as possible by thesame reference numbers as in Figs. 1-3 with the addition of 100.

This movement of the'latching member 25 causes the surface 30 to have aslight upward pitch at its forward end to permit the In i'ig'. gth'ereisshown a'trapt l(Hi-comprising; turni'allow-ingrthetpivotalmovement-of-the latch it a base 1 [02swith :a' jaw +04 pivotally;mounted ingmember.; I25 to releasethelj aw 1.04,.1asl, pre-g thereon?by: staples: |05randv Invalid-normally viouslyldescribed. edin:thetripped po bysa co d p In the-eventthetrap; is tripped by anupwardtmt: As-mthe prev ousntaon e d 9' 5 movement of- "the :'bait.-. holdingtread let l5,,--its-, 7-- of "thespr g-10T-contacts the :uppersurfaceaofrearwardly extending extensions -l52-bearagainst the side--I1:0 Gf -the' jaW -IM T fi d H of 11116: n the: top surface-ofithebase-l02 and its outwardlyv p in l'W DresseS- g im he pper surface o extendingjportions;l5! en age." the apertureslio thmba-se-JMw The-'latchingmember- [25"15 Sdlnl-v swinging portion l lafl'yfomedandmounted e mdescrlbedt l0 clockwise: direction topermit the --tripping of the;vexceptingz'that-the =undersurface of .-itsforward v traEaQEIreadydescribed enduis cut"awayiasqndicated"at 8490 provide While theinvention hasbeen-describedand. clearance'for-a purpo e o-p F f Scribemillustrated with reference to specific embodimentsa.

This embodlmem i t' 'i differs from thereofr'itiwill'be' understood thatother emboditpatl'prewpgslyzdescnbed m that a q 'ments may be resortedto without departingxfrom vtdfilhfor tnppmg "thetrap thei -invention;Therefore,-the form of-the-inven i holdmgiportwn 9 the'itrealdle f i ftion:set:out above shouldxbe consideredasailluse dlrectimn' ttrativeiiand' not as limitingthe scope s'of' the :fol-m the inventionthe baitholdingatreadlehis formed lowingclaimy H I in two "parts a balitholding1 -:p1ortlig3i Hg laznldlli werclaimr weightedportion Sidewal s.-an -o 1 V l the-weighted portion I I6 are-aperturedasindi: ififififi#XZQfi ffig fi ggfjfifi gfifi catedeatwlu for the ipivotalisupport thereof by. supported f base; latch, engaging? staple? Mengaged'm thepase t side means: adapted to be actuated by the--treadletr gl z' ggb ggg g ifi gz z i sg ig fi g gg and alatchzmemberindependent of said treadle: a pivotal mounting for the baitholdingportion i gggg igyhig gg 5212 285533 232 2? gi g i jggi recesswith: a) substantially,horizontal upper-sum tion: i -m membernGrmaHyremamS in posh face-t o hgldthe. aw 1n the-setpos1tign,g;h-elat%htion with its-rearward end resting on the surface member f g P edfto ofthe base 102: The bait holding-portion nss t engaged by t Jaw as them?the treadle' is formed with outwardlyextending P g membr re3rWard1y pprojections [5! adapted to extendthrough the enter P 3 5 a gf apertures50 forthenpivotalmounting of thevbait' second cam. surface adapted to.be engagedx-zbyfa. holding portion. The rearward end of the meme f fi Platch member q sm ber is formed with outwardlygextending portionslockthe Jaw the k n and-toslmuh' I52' adapte'd to Contact" and extendbeyond the taneovslrengage' the latch membewndera n b tw img th"charm-616d weighted porr. I tion of said latch member engaging meanswithti i' nd': thug nQrmg11y"h 1d' t a balding outmovementoisaidttreadle'to'exert'an upward? portion 5 with its forward endraised'abovethe pressure-uponsald latch 3 engaglnglmeansw suriace of the base1'02: The rearward "end of animal trap com lsme arb era sprin r-a thebait holding portion. H5'is slotted as indi-" actuated; Ja i o di trea ea fi' cated at,l54"t"o provide clearancefor the forward suppflrted" ythe base; latch111911113611"tngtlgmgfi4v end'of thellat'chingmember' I25'; means adapted" tor-bet actuatediby'thestreadle, and" 'Ih Operationf this embodiment of the trap a latch'member independent ofsaiditreadletanda is similar to that of the trap shown in Figs. 1 freelyslidable horizontally under said'latch'memthrough 3. J Thetrap, is heldin a horizontal'posie gaging means and having a locking recessi-i ti nwhile etti nd th jaw. |n'4"swung..over withf'asubstantiallyhorizontalupperrsurface'toir agamStHthecammmg surface I the latchinghold jaw m'the set-position; the latchimeme be 25 1 thereby movingflitrearwardly so ber having one-cam surface'adapted totbe-iena that the.jawv member moves down against the a d y'th i was trap' s s t to m vecamming, surfac l 3l,,lthus-moving. the latchv the latch member'rearwardly'in a' -direction par--- ingr-memberin a forwardhdirectionand locking. a l 60th? baseso that'th jaw m y en er-the;- theajaw. I04in the locking recess I25. Or,..in. the. 55 fl s d'having-asecond-camsurfacer event-the. latching member had already slippedforminga wall ofthe-lockihg recess and adapted rearwardly as far aspossible, the jaw I04 will; to be eng fidbyithe J' 't move the'latchmemnot strike'the cam surfaceelflvbut will directly] berforwardly in adirection parallel to the'base strike the cam surface 3| thusimmediate-ly. mov to c t jaw n the lock n e es and to bingathelatchmember- 25 into. the latching posl-; :taneously engage thelatch member 'under "a" por tion. Thetip 2 of the-latchingmemberslides.- tion of saidlatch member engaging meanswith under the uppersurface 01% the weighted portions out movement .of'said treadleto'exertian'upward' l I6 at "-the' end of the slot. l2 2-, puttingthetrappressure upon said latch member enga'gin'g meansx in the setposition The tripping. of the trapmay 3. 'Ananimal, trap comprising a.base, a. spring, be accomplished-bymoving:thebaitholdinglpore5actuatedljaw, a bait holding -treadle pivotallyg tiondown-wardly orupwardly. supported by the. base, latch .member engaging j hthea t. thtrapqis .to -be tripped-by a. means adapted to be actuated by thetreadle a downward movement of *the bait holding treadle latch-wmemberindependent .of said treadlel and 5, :it moves'in a clockwisedirection;itsunder freelycslidable.horizontallyunder-said latch mem-.-surfaeepivoting-on the top -of the staple H4; its 1 berengaging meansandhaving alockingereoessh rearwardlyextending-- ends l52 -contaxztingtthe: withsa substantiallyhorizontaltupperasurfaceato.

bottom surface'of thechanneled weighted porhold the jaw in thesetrposi-tion, the latch .mema tion H6; rotating thismemberin aclockwise diber having one cam I surface adapted; tobe enrectionandpermitting: the ti-pql-M: ofi-the-latchgagedaby-the jaw asthe trap isbeing-set to move;

mgimemberiZS tmsliplhroughfthe'i's1ot' l22; in 76 theilatchmemberzrearwardly so that-thet-jaw may ber engaging means withoutmovement of said treadle to exert anupward pressure upon said latchmember engaging means, the latch member having a horizontalslot'extending inwardly from the outer end thereof, and a supportingmember adapted to be received in the slot to attach the latch member tothe base of the trap.

4. An animal trap comprising a base, a spring actuated jaw, a baitholding treadle pivotally supported by the base and having a weightedportion on the opposite side of the pivotal mounting from the baitholding portion so that the bait holding portion is normally in a raisedposition, a latch member independent of said treadle having a lockingrecess with a substantially horizontal upper surface adjacent one end tohold the jaw in the set position, the latch member having one camsurface adapted to be engaged by the jaw as the trap is being set tomove the latch member in a rearward direction so that the jaw may enterthe locking recess and having a second cam surface adapted to be engagedby the jaw to move the latch member in a forward direction to lock thejaw in the locking recess, the other end of the latch member beingadapted to engage with the treadle substantially at its pivot point tohold the jaw in the set position, said latch member being freelyslidable horizontally with respect to said weighted portion whereby thesaid other end of the latch member is engageable with the under surfaceof the weighted portion to exert an upward pressure thereon withoutmovement of said treadle.

5. An animal trap comprising a base, a spring actuated jaw, a baitholding treadle pivotally supported by the base and having a weightedportion on the opposite side of the pivotalmounting from the baitholding portion so that the bait holding portion is normally in a raisedposition, a latch member independent of said treadle having a lockingrecess with a substantially horizontal upper surface adjacent one end tohold the jaw in the set position, the latch member having one camsurface adapted to be engaged by the jaw as thetrap is being set to movethe latch member in a rearward direction so that the jaw may enter thelocking recess and having a second cam surface adapted to be engaged bythe jaw to move the latch member in a forward direction to lock the jawin the locking recess, the other end of the latch member being adaptedto extend under the treadle substantially at its pivot point to hold thejaw in the set position, the weighted portion of the bait holdingtreadle extending rearwardly from its pivotal mounting and located aboveand spaced from the latch member, said latch member being freelyslidable horizontally with respect to said weighted portion whereby thesaid other end of the latch member is engageable with the under surfaceof the weighted portion to exert an upward pressure thereon withoutmovement of said treadle.

6. An animal trap comprising a base, a spring actuated jaw, a baitholding treadle pivotally supported by the base and having achannel-shaped weighted portion on the opposite side of the pivotalmounting from the bait holding portion so that the bait holding portionis normally in a raised position, a latch member independent of saidtreadle having a locking recess with a sub- 8 stantially horizontalupper surface adjacent one end to hold the jaw in the set position, thelatch member having one cam surface adapted to be engaged by the jaw asthe trap is being set to move the latch member in a rearward directionso that the jaw may enter the locking recess and having a second camsurface adapted to be engaged by the jaw to move the latch member in aforward direction to lock the jaw in the locking recess, the other endof the latch member being adapted to extend upwardly under the baitholding portion of the treadle to hold the jaw in the set position, theweighted portion of the bait holding treadle extending rearwardly fromits pivotal mounting and located above and spaced from the latch member,the weighted portion of the bait holding treadle being slotted to permitthe upwardly extending endo f the latch member to swing upwardly torelease the jaw from the looking recess when the bait holding treadle isdepressed, said latch member being freely slidable horizontally withrespect to said weighted portion whereby the said other end of the latchmember is engageable with the under surface of the weighted portion toexert an upward pressure thereon without movement of said treadle.

'7. An animal trap comprising a base, a spring actuated jaw, a baitholding treadle, a weighted channel-shaped member normally adapted tohold the bait holding treadle in the raised position and apertured toprovide a pivotal mounting therefor, the bait holding treadle havingoutwardly extending projections adapted to be received in the aperturesofthe weighted member,

the weighted member being pivotally supported by the base, a latchmember having a locking recess with a substantially horizontal uppersurface adjacent one end to hold the jaw in the set position, the latchmember independent of said treadle having one cam surface adapt-ed to beengaged by the jaw as the trap is being set to move the latch member ina rearward direction so that the jaw may enter the locking recess andhaving a second cam surface adapted to be engaged by the jaw to move thelatch member in a forward direction to lock the jaw in the lockingrecess, the other end of the latch member adapted to extend under theWeighted member to hold the member to swing upwardly to release the jawfrom the locking recess when the bait holding treadle is moved on itspivotal axis, said latch member being freely slidable horizontally withrespect to said Weighted portion whereby the said other end of the latchmember is engageable with the under surface of the weighted portion toexert an upward pressure thereon without movement of said treadle.

8. An animal trap comprising a base, a spring actuated jaw, a baitholding treadle, a weighted member normallyadapted to hold the baitholding treadle in the raised position and pivotally connectedtherewith, the weighted member pivotally supported by the base, a latchmember independent of said treadle having a locking recess with asubstantially horizontal upper surface adjacent one end to hold the jawin the set position, the latch member having one cam surface adapted tobe engaged by the jaw as the trap is being set to move the latch memberin a rearward direction so that the jaw may enter the locking recess andhaving a second cam surface adapted to be engaged by the jaw to move thelatch member in a forward direction to lock the jaw in the lockingrecess, the other end of the latch member adapted to engage the weightedmember to hold the jaw in the set position, said latch member beingfreely slidable horizontally with respect to said weighted portionwhereby the said other end of the latch member is engageable with theunder surface of the weighted portion to exert an upward pressurethereon without movement of said treadle.

HAROLD B. KOCH. JOI-IN U. LEHN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: Y

Number 10 Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Daugherty July 6,1937 Stilson Oct. 5, 1937 Stilson Nov. 30, 1937 Zahm June 4, 1940Dougherty July 1, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Sept. 26,1932 France Oct. 18, 1932

